Effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of a brief school-based group programme for parents of children at risk of ADHD: a cluster randomised controlled trial

Sayal, Kapil and Taylor, John A. and Valentine, Althea and Guo, Boliang and Sampson, Christopher James and Sellman, Edward and James, Marilyn and Hollis, Chris and Daley, David
(2016)
Effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of a brief school-based group programme for parents of children at risk of ADHD: a cluster randomised controlled trial.
Child: Care, Health and Development, 42
(4).
pp. 521-533.
ISSN 1365-2214

Abstract

Background

NICE guidelines recommend a stepped care approach for the identification and management of children with, or at risk of, Attention-Deficit / Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). We investigated the effectiveness, cost-effectiveness and acceptability of a group parenting intervention programme (+/- a teacher session) for children at risk of ADHD.

Follow-up data were obtained from 76 parents and 169 teachers. There was no effect of the parentonly (mean difference = -1.1, 95% CI -5.1,2.9; p=0.57) or combined interventions (mean difference = -2.1, 95% CI -6.4,2.1; p=0.31) on the ADHD Index. The combined intervention was associated with reduced parent-reported hyperactivity symptoms (mean difference = -5.3; 95% CI -10.5,-0.01; p=0.05) and the parent-only intervention with improved parental mental health (mean difference = - 1.9; 95% CI -3.2,-0.5; p=0.009). The incremental costs of the parent-only and the combined interventions were £73 and £123 respectively. Above a willingness to pay of £31 per 1-point improvement in the ADHD index, the parent-only programme had the highest probability of cost effectiveness. Participants found the interventions acceptable.

Conclusions

For children at risk of ADHD, this school-based parenting programme was not associated with improvement in core ADHD symptoms. Secondary analyses suggested a possible reduction in parent-reported hyperactivity and parental mental health problems. Future research should compare targeted interventions against watchful waiting and specialist referral.

Item Type:

Article

Additional Information:

This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Sayal, K., Taylor, J. A., Valentine, A., Guo, B., Sampson, C. J., Sellman, E., James, M., Hollis, C., and Daley, D. (2016) Effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of a brief school-based group programme for parents of children at risk of ADHD: a cluster randomised controlled trial. Child: Care, Health and Development, 42: 521–533. doi: 10.1111/cch.12349, which has been published in final form at: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/cch.12349/abstract. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving.